


If Katy Said No

by Angryniall



Category: One Direction, niall horan - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 07:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16132208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angryniall/pseuds/Angryniall
Summary: What would have happened if Katy Perry said no to Niall and he had to find his own way into the music world.





	1. Chapter 1

Niall had a dream since he was young to be a musician. He wanted to be the irish Justin Bieber and he was willing to do anything to make that happen. That’s why when he was just 16, he applied to X-Factor. He’s watched the show since he was young, of course. He’d seen some huge names come from the show and he wanted to be the next one.

Niall’s dreams were always over the top: he wanted to travel the world just him and his guitar and play in all the venues he’s watched his favorite acts from. His parents were into old school rock and he’s always been fond of it himself.

Niall went through all the pre-rounds of X-Factor. He had to meet a few different producers and sing for them before they would even allow him to get in front of the actual judges. He’s prepared a few different songs that he thinks really shows off his vocal talent. He’s nervous each time, hoping he gets sent through.

When he gets the call that he’s going to go to Dublin in front of the judges and possibly be on the show, he’s freaking out. He and his parents and his brother are all screaming, jumping up and down excited. Niall knows there’s a big hurdle still in front of him, but he just knows that he’s going to get through.

The line for auditions was killer. He was practically shaking by the time that his name was called–hours after him and his family arrived. The producers did a pre-audition interview with him to learn more about him and what he was wanting if he were to get through. Niall ends up blabbering on about Justin Bieber, which he’s gotten a lot of comparisons to from his friends. Mostly because they all tease him about being such a big fan, but the producers don’t have to know that.

As he gets on stage, he’s more nervous than he’s ever been before. Niall tries to play it off as nothing, which he knows comes off a bit cocky. But he has to be confident. If the judges think he’s insecure, they might also doubt his talent. Niall’s a bit starstruck, as Katy Perry is the guest judge. He’s had a crush on her since she premiered, as have all his mates from home.

Niall breaks into his rendition of So Sick, one of the songs that he’s worked the most on and knows that he won’t have any issue hitting the notes. He needs to be as consistent as he can for the judges. Simon stops him after only a verse, which makes his heart beat faster.

His ears start ringing as the judges start talking and he’s scared that he won’t even be able to hear their feedback. Katy starts talking about how young he is and how he has time and needs to work on himself. Simon mentions him being unprepared and had the wrong song and basically brings him down a peg. Niall’s trying not to cry in the middle of the stage, thinking he’s going to be one of those artists that gets all no’s and basically got through just to be made fun of.

Then Simon says, “but I still liked you.” Niall’s heart starts racing. Maybe he does have a shot at this. His heart is pounding as the judges start talking about how likable he is. He knows that likability isn’t the only factor to a great artist, but it does help get fans. Finally, Louis asks for a vote.

Simon: yes. Niall’s heart is pounding. Simon’s the “hard” judge. If he impressed Simon, he has to get through. He has to.

Cheryl: no. The crowd boos and Niall hopes that this is enough to persuade Louis and Katy Perry to say yes. He has to have them both say yes to get through to boot camp.

Louis: yes. Niall tries to get the crowd to cheer for him, a final effort to be able to get through.

Katy Perry then jokes around about feeling the pressure. He knows she’s trying to be funny and have the show be more entertaining, but he wishes she’d just tell him the answer. His heart is pounding so hard. Katy agrees with Cheryl, which is bad because Cheryl said no. She also thinks he’s likable, but says he needs talent.

Niall’s not often believed in God, but now he’s praying for just this shot. If he gets to boot camp, he’ll prove himself. He’ll prove to Cheryl that he should have gotten the yes from her. There’s a long pause as Katy thinks and the crowd is cheering for him.

Katy: Sorry, but I just think you need more practice.

This is it. He’s gotten this far… just to be told no, that he needs time and that he’s not good enough or talented enough. He thanks the judges and heads off stage to his waiting parents. He shoves his head in their shoulders, trying to hold the tears off.

—–

It’s been 7 years since Niall auditioned for the X-Factor. After his audition, he had to slog on back to school and play it off for his mates as if he wasn’t crushed about not getting through. Niall worked on trying to better his voice, practicing every night and bettering his guitar skills so he could possibly get back on the show and try his hand at impressing the judges again.

That is, until the audition episode from Dublin premiered. Why’d Niall have to be so dumb as to mention Mullingar? I mean, the town’s not the biggest, but if he hadn’t, maybe the whole school wouldn’t know about his failed audition. Everyone had opinions: his friends thought he was robbed. They deleted their Katy Perry songs from their ITunes, calling her a traitor. Some boys from school used it to mock him.

While Niall’s not been one to give up on his dreams, he put them on hold. He stopped practicing at night and put the guitar he’d been playing since he was a kid up. The years went on and Niall focused on his schooling. It was only a few years later as he was cleaning out his room to move to uni that he picked the guitar back up. Niall decided to pack his guitar with him as he headed off to London.

Uni was one of the best times in Niall’s life thus far. There were a group of people from Ireland at school that he fell into. They found local pubs, had parties at their flats where they let Niall play guitar all night as they sang drunken renditions of music they grew up on and current hits and Niall got to meet tons of girls, who he found were super into musicians.

As he rediscovered his love of music, he decided to pursue it at uni. He took internships at some recording studios, being bold enough to go in and basically beg just to sit in the studio with them. When he graduated, one of the places even offered him a position. But Niall had another idea in mind.

You see, Niall always wanted to live in America. He’s visited several times with his dad, especially when he was younger, and there’s a few Horan cousins scattered around. He knew it was a long shot, but he submitted his resume, some samples of his stuff, and a cover letter where he detailed his love of music and how he wants to help create music that inspires people. He’d given up on being the singer, but he thought he had a shot at helping to produce music. Niall’s worked with soundboards a bit. Sure, he mostly watched others do the work, but he felt comfortable enough to try himself.

When Niall submitted all his application, he was fully ready to get a no. If he did, he fully planned on accepting the offer from the place in London that he’s worked for a bit. It’s not anything spectacular: mostly local artists who purchase a few hours time to create demos. Although, Olly Murs did once come through for a recording session. Course, it was the one day Niall had off, but he still considers it a big deal.

It was almost fate that as Niall was walking across the stage, accepting his diploma, his email went off with the offer letter from Capital Records, letting him know that he had a job as a producer and songwriter waiting for him in LA and wondering if he’d be able to start in two weeks time.

The biggest part of the move for him was the money. Niall’s never been a frivolous man, but he also just graduated uni. He got some monetary presents from his family and friends for graduation. Niall was also not to scared to ask his potential employers about a relocation bonus, which they were able to provide him with some. Those two, plus all his savings, and a generous check from his dad helped him get to LA within two weeks time.

He got off the plane at LAX and went straight to the apartment that he was able to get and sign all the documents online for. It’s definitely not the greatest place in the world: it’s a studio apartment and his childhood bedroom probably had more space. He’d done a lot of research and at least made sure that he was in a safe part of town and he could get to the metro rail pretty easily, which would take him right to the studio he’d be working out of.

As Niall unpacks his few suitcases worth of items, laying down a few blankets that will serve as his bed until he can afford to purchase one, he can’t help but think that he’s lucky. Sure, things are far from perfect, but he’s living in America, he has a job working with music and the potential to work with big name artists. His job officially starts tomorrow and he can’t wait to see what the future holds.


	2. Chapter 2

Niall’s first day of work goes about as well as he would hope. He gets to meet a few of the producers he’ll be working with. His main coworkers are Scott, who has worked with J. Lo in the past and Valerie, who was one of the main producers of Halsey’s current album. They’re both welcoming and spend most of the first day showing him their setup.

They both have clients coming in to work on some tracks today, so Niall gets a hands-on experience learning the process and what his job will be day to day. The client that is coming in today, Luke, is working on the finishing parts of his album. He’s already recorded about 40 songs and has chosen some that he thinks are contenders for his album. Niall watches the process as Valerie shows Luke the production that they’ve worked on over the past couple days and she takes feedback that he provides to tweak the song to his liking.

Once Luke leaves, Scott starts working on producing a few of the songs that he was working on getting vocals for. Producing is not a typical 9-5 job and Scott ends up getting into a rhythm, so the group orders delivery for dinner and end up working a bit late to work on a few different songs before Luke comes back the following day.

After work, Niall heads back to his apartment. Moving to a different country definitely has its downsides and one of them is that he knows nobody. However, Niall has never been one to shy away from new experiences, so he leaves the apartment shortly after he arrives home and goes to the bar he passed on the way home.

The place is almost dead, as can be expected on a Monday night. Niall hops on the bar stool and orders a pint and some wings. The bartender tends to a few of the different customers, who are mostly in groups, either couples out on a date or friends grabbing beers after work. Niall’s never had an issue making friends, but it’s easier when you’ve grown up in a small town surrounded by people or you go to uni and end up rooming with a few guys who know a few guys. When you’re in a new city all by yourself, it’s a bit harder.

Niall wrestles with himself most of the night about going to talk to one of the groups. There’s one that he’s been thinking about, it’s all guys, so it’ll hopefully be easier if they don’t think he’s hitting on one of the members. But he just doesn’t know what he’ll say to them. After all, he doesn’t know them at all. One of the guys comes bounding over to the bar to order another beer. When he does, Niall takes a chance, “Drinking Bud Light, huh?” He tries not to judge too much but… come on, it’s Bud Light.

The guy groans, “God, don’t tell me you’re one of those hooty toity craft beer drinkers like Harry over there” and motions to one of his friends. Niall laughs at the thought of himself drinking craft beers, “Nah, I’m Irish. Need me a Guiness and we’re good to go.”

The other guy nods, “Cool with me. Guiness is good. It’s no Bud Light though.” He winks at him, letting Niall know that he’s just joking. “I’m Louis.” Louis looks around and realizes that this guy must be all alone, “Wanna come drink with us? Probably a bit less pathetic than drinking alone on a Monday night.”

Niall accepts quickly, glad he has a reason to not be so pathetic. Louis said it jokingly, but Niall’s been feeling that way most of the night. Niall grabs his beer and heads over, where he’s introduced to Harry, who has some red colored beer, and Liam, who he notices with a bud light as well.

“So, you’re all English then?” He asks, picking up on their accents. They’re all clearly from different parts, so he assumes they’re not brothers or anything.

Liam takes charge, “Yeah, we’ve all moved here separately. I moved out here following a girl. She came to England for some study abroad trip and I followed her home, thinkin she was the one. Lasted a good two years, yeah, til she kicked me out. Louis’ whole family moved here, he’s got like 20 siblings.”

Niall shrugs, “Any hot sisters?” Which earns a smirk from Harry and Louis punches Niall’s arm, “We don’t know each other like that yet, Lad! Keep your comments bout my sisters to yourself.”

Liam laughs, “Yeah, should have mentioned he’s a protective brother. And Harry came out here for that Hollywood life. We all found each other on some friend app. Bonded over being Englishmen in the United States, been best friends for what? 3 years now?”

Louis rolls his eyes, “Way too long, if ya ask me.” Liam and Harry both shake their head, “Louis loves us, we’re basically his brothers.” Harry tells me, drinking his red beer–seriously it’s red? Why is it red?

Louis quickly changes the subject, “So what’s your story then?” Niall shrugs and tells them that he’s Irish and moved out here for a job at Capital Studios. “Just a producer, today was my first day, so don’t really have any cool stories from the studio yet.”

Harry perks up, “Oh yeah? You’re a producer? You know we’ve got a band, yeah?” Niall laughs, “I play music myself. I can’t really get my own stuff produced, I doubt I can help you guys out. Love to hear ya play sometime though.”

Liam laughs. “We don’t really play live yet. Louis knows piano, but we aren’t really savvy with instruments just yet. Don’t know why Harry’s tryna get a record deal.” Well, Liam does know. That’s why Harry moved out here. He wanted to put out his own music and he thought being close to Hollywood would help out his career. But Liam knows that even if they get a shot, they will probably only get one shot. So he wants to make sure they’ve practiced enough and are perfect, so if they get a no, it’s not because they didn’t practice enough.

Niall shrugs, “I play a bit of guitar in my off time, I’d help you out sometime if you want.” Louis smiles, “Ayyyyy!” He slaps Niall on the back, “Told you lads we should have invited him to sit with us earlier. But you thought he was going to be a serial killer.”

Niall laughs and finish off his beer. The boys all get Niall’s number and add him to their group chat, titled Untitled Band. “Quite a name ya got there.” Niall teases them, causing them all to laugh.

They have another drink and end up questioning Niall more about his tastes. They’re all pretty different. Liam’s mostly into new artists, mostly R&B. Louis is punk pop personified, mentioning Green Day as one of his all time favorite bands, and Harry’s old school rock. Niall kind of fits in perfectly, enjoying a lot of the Top 40 artists of today and country, but also having favorites from each of their favorite genres as well.

As Niall heads home, he starts to feel like he made the right choice. The right choice with choosing his career, moving out here, and going to the bar tonight. He doesn’t have a ton of hope about this “Untitled Band” going anywhere, but for now, he can enjoy bonding with new friends over a love of music and singing.


	3. Chapter 3

Niall’s now been in America a month and he feels like he has a good rhythm to things. He’s been shadowing Valerie and Luke and learning how it’s done at Capital. A few nights a week, he also gets together with his new friends for a drink which sometimes ends in them playing music together into all hours of the night.

Today starts out like most, with one exception. Niall’s invited to some formal lunch with a new artist the label has signed. Audrey is an up-and-coming artist who has posted covers on youtube and has a moderate following on social media. From the gossip Niall’s heard, Audrey’s slated to be the next big name in music.

Niall heads to the lunch at some upscale steakhouse and he has to admit, getting a chance to eat a $60 steak for free is never an opportunity he will turn down. It also turns out to be a great opportunity to meet some of the executives and other producers. The company has rented out one of the party rooms. Niall has mostly worked with Luke and Valerie, so he tries to stay near them as they point out the people in the room they know, which turns out to be mostly other producers. Most work in teams or solo and meet each other at events like this.

Audrey decided to come to the event mostly to meet some producers. She has a specific vision in mind: she wants her album to tell a story. She recently got out of her first long term relationship and wants the album to start with the butterflies of crushing on someone and work it’s way through dating someone, being comfortable with them, to the always fighting and have the final song be a kind of revelation that it’s not working and that they’re mostly holding onto memories. It’s a big thing and she’s been working on her songs, in bits and pieces, since before she was signed. She wants to find producers she can really trust to bring her album to life.

Her manager, Georgina, introduces her to the main producers Capital has on their payroll. They’ve produced most the songs that she’s heard on the radio lately. Audrey knows she should be flattered that she’s even getting offered these amazing producers, but she’s also scared that they’re going to try to make it like everything else they’ve put out and won’t let it stand on its own.

Audrey ducks away from her manager and getting introduced to 100 new people a minute to just have a breather. She heads outside for some fresh air. “Little crowded in there, huh?” A guy asks her almost as soon as she’s outside. Before she can even nod, he continues to babble on, “I’m a little claustrophobic myself, can’t handle that many people in one room. Feels like the walls are closing in.”

Audrey understands that feeling, “I’m a bit shy, honestly. I’m being introduced to so many different people, it’s really making me nervous. Doesn’t help that I barely have time to register their name before I’m sent off to meet someone new.”

“Yeah, seems like all these networking events are less about meeting people and more about meeting the right person.” Niall continues, “I’ve never been good at that. Trying to impress a certain person or whatever. I enjoy just being myself and finding people I like. I don’t care if they’re the CEO or the janitor, you know? If they’re cool, I like them.”

“So what are you?” Audrey asks, “The CEO? Or the janitor?”

Niall laughs, “I guess I’m more towards the janitor. I’m a producer, but an extremely new one. So far, I’ve only assisted two other producers. I’ve got the hang of it, yeah. But they haven’t let me take on anything solo quite yet.”

Audrey retorts, “is that a fancy way of saying you suck and they’re scared to let you out on your own so you don’t ruin the music?”

Niall laughs again, “Wow, you’re pretty bold, aren’t you? You must be the CEO.” Audrey shrugs, “Not the CEO, just the new girl looking for a new producer.” She offers him her hand, “I’m Audrey.”

She notices that his eyes go a bit wide. Niall hadn’t planned on talking to her today, he was more wanting to meet other producers and maybe get to work with some new people. “I’m Niall.” He says, shaking her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Niall.” She says, shaking his hand. She looks inside the restaurant and notices Georgina looking around. Audrey sighs, “I should probably get back inside. It was nice meeting you.” She smiles and heads back inside to meet more producers.

The dinner goes off pretty well. Niall gets his expensive steak, which is smaller than he imagined but tastes incredible, although he doubts he’d pay $60 for it if he was footing the bill. On the ride home, Georgina is questioning Audrey, wanting to know which producers she met that she liked the most. Audrey thinks it’s such a weird question. She met people for all of a minute and didn’t even get to hear the music they’ve produced, unless they’re well known already of course.

Audrey answers her question in a shrug, “I think I’d like to hear their work more.” Hopefully that can buy her some time. She’s hesitant about agreeing to work with any producer. She doesn’t want to put down money and resources with someone if they aren’t going to be a good fit for her album.

Georgina nods and is already sending out emails, “Give me a top 10 list and I’ll have demos sent over.” Audrey doesn’t even think she can name ten people she met, but Georgina is already on the case, mentioning about 20 off the top of her head who have top 100 hits in the past year. Georgina chooses a few that she thinks fit her style, but she can’t stop thinking about the new guy. She doesn’t know why, she didn’t hear any of his music, but she also knows that she wants something new. If she was wanting to put out the exact same music that’s currently on the radio, she’d be jumping at the chance to work with all the artists Georgina described. “Add Niall to the list. He seemed enthusiastic, I’d like to at least listen to a demo or something.”

Georgina gives her a look, almost to ask her if she realizes that she can have the guy who’s produced 6 top 10 hits. But Audrey just reminds her that she’s not committing to anyone, she’s just going to listen to things and decide the person to be the main producer of her album. For all she knows, Niall’s demo will suck and she’ll end up choosing someone else all together.

Niall heads home after the party and sends a text to his group chat, “Dinner was great, got a free steak! One more of these and I’ll be too good to join you guys for wings.” He sends it as a joke and immediately gets a reply back from Louis, “What makes you think we’ll miss you hogging all the drumsticks?”

Niall rolls his eyes and throws his phone on the bed. He hops in for a quick shower before bed. He’s about to set his alarm for the following day when he sees an email requesting that he submit a demo for Audrey. He tries to talk himself out of being excited, thinking that they asked everyone, but he checks the CC list and sees that there’s only about 15 people who got the email. Niall’s pretty excited, a chance to produce for someone on his own is what he’s been waiting for. But to produce for someone that the label is backing heavily and expecting to be a big hit? It could get his name out there. He could be producing for Bieber next. Well, if Bieber were on Capital, that is. Too bad Universal never got back to him about his resume.


	4. Chapter 4

The producers send over their demos and Audrey and Georgina get back together to go over them all. “Wait, we need popcorn!” Audrey laughs. She knows this is serious business, but her and Georgina have been close since she was one of the first people Audrey met at the record label and has helped her every step of the way.

Georgina really wants Audrey to choose one of the larger name producers. Having someone like Calvin Harris or Marshmellow will allow her to get her stuff on the radio more easily and their fans will automatically buy the songs they do together. Plus, they know how to make hits. Audrey pops the popcorn and Georgina plays the demos for Audrey one by one. The two girls stop after each song that was sent to discuss what Audrey thinks. She’s grateful to even have the chance to consider some of these producers, especially as a no name act, but she doesn’t just want a popular song. She wants to stay true to her vision of the album she has in her mind.

Georgina keeps Niall’s for last. She’s had an inkling since Audrey mentioned him that she was going to end up choosing him as her main producer. Georgina’s main goal is to help Audrey succeed and she knows it’ll be easier with the bigger producers, but when Niall’s demo plays, she sees Audrey’s face light up and knows that he’s got the job. “It’s perfect!” Audrey almost whispers, as if she’s shocked that he was able to encapsulate the exact type of sound she’s going for. “I love the focus on the instruments, but it’s still upbeat and catchy… it’s the exact sound I’d love my album to have.” Georgina has to admit, the demo is pretty good. It’s a rockier song and she could see it on the radio when the production is cleaned up a bit. “Maybe we should see if we can get this song, I think it’d be a perfect first single.”

Audrey nods, but isn’t going to commit to using Niall’s song. She wants to help in writing all the songs and make them personal to her, not just use a song already written that she has no personal connection to. Plus, she doesn’t know if she can live up to the version Niall sent over. Even though it’s clearly not an album ready version, it works perfectly for whoever was singing on it.

Georgina nods, “Alright, well then I’ll speak to Capital, we’ll get a contract signed up for this.” Audrey smiles, “Actually… I know it’s probably not professional, but could I get his number? Maybe call him up and let him know myself?”

Georgina gives her a smirk, she knew something was up. “You like him, don’t you, Squidward?” She jokes with Audrey. Audrey laughs and pushes her playfully, “Shut up! I think he’s talented and think he can give my album the feel I want.” Georgina opens her mouth to retort back a dirty joke and Audrey shoves her again, which just causes her to laugh. “Fine, fine. I’ll see if I can make it happen for you.”

Audrey knew since she met Georgina that she was good at getting what she wants, but she didn’t realize how good she was until she gets a text that night with Niall’s number. She assumed it might be impossible or take her a few days to convince someone to give up one of the producer’s numbers, but Georgina must have her ways.

Audrey clicks on the number and waits as it rings. She hears the deep voice she remembers from last week on the other line, “hello?” Audrey takes a deep breath, “Niall? It’s Audrey… we met last week.” She swears she can hear his smile, “I remember you, yeah. Got your email too, guess you wanted to hear my work?”

Audrey bites her lip, “Yeah, well you know, we asked everyone at the party.” Niall knows it’s bullshit, the restaurant was completely packed and the email was sent to 15 people. But he figures he’ll let her have this one. “So why are you calling me?”

“Well, I listened to your demo and I just wanted to personally call and ask if you would work on my album?”

Niall is speechless. He always wished he’d get to be a main producer on an entire album, but so far he hasn’t even worked solo on a song here. He hears Audrey ask, “Hello? Niall? Are you there?”

“Yeah, sorry. Of course I will, yeah! But you know I’ve never produced a song on my own, right? I’m still fairly new to this whole thing.”

“Good. I’ve never recorded a song on my own either. We can figure it out together.” Her response makes him laugh, “Fine, I’ll do it! We’ll make it the best album of the year. #1 record, song of the summer, you’ll have it all. As long as Taylor Swift or Beyonce don’t drop something.”

Audrey laughs, “God, if Beyonce drops something, I’d probably buy her album before mine too.” Niall retorts, “I was thinking I’d get Taylor’s first. Shake it Off, Shake it off.” He jokingly sings, which causes Audrey to burst out in laughter.

They only met once, but both of them feel pretty comfortable with the other. Audrey feels that Niall will put his heart and soul into her album and produce it as if it were his own and Niall thinks that Audrey will let him have some control to produce it and put his own twist on it, while still staying true to her vision.


	5. Chapter 5

Their first day working together is today and Audrey has butterflies in the pit of her stomach. This feels almost like a first date, except she has more to lose, even though she trusts Niall wholeheartedly now. They’ve been talking a lot lately. She’s been sending him messages at 3am with lyrics that are stuck in her head that she can’t get out but she’s scared she’ll forget by the morning.

Creative minds must have a hard time sleeping, because Niall usually replies within a few minutes and sometimes even takes her rambling lyrics and FaceTimes her with a melody that he think matches.

Going into the studio with him is almost too professional and it’s insane to think that this is their first official day working together since he’s helped her build so many pieces of songs already.

“Maybe we should try to rent this for 3 am. Think the studio’ll be free then?” Niall teases as he walks in and gives Audrey a hug. She laughs, “you might have to put a shirt on though!”

Niall blushes. He’s not usually shy, but he knows that he’s working for her and he usually gets super excited by some of the things he sends and grabs a guitar and FaceTimes her without really thinking of the fact that he’s not wearing a shirt. Audrey senses a sense in his mood and mutters a “sorry, just joking” as she heads to the writing table. She has her computer pulled up and has various videos she’s saved of the music Niall’s went, as well as some of her own writing that she’s been working on at normal times of the day.

“Wow you’re prepared,” Niall notes as he sits down with his guitar and a pad and paper. Audrey blushes, feeling a bit like a student who got an A on a test everyone else failed and being embarrassed at having done so well. “Just thought all our hard work so far shouldn’t go to waste.”

Niall nods, “no, I’m glad you are. I’ve really liked some of the stuff we’ve put together. Think we have a good song or two in the works.”

Audrey giggles, “well, hopefully we have an entire album full of good songs in the work.” Niall laughs, “fair enough!”

There’s silence and Audrey’s mostly nervous. Niall coughs, “Um, so you gonna show me what you’ve been working on?” Audrey bites her lip, “Actually, can we talk about the album as a whole first?”

Niall shrugs, “It’s your studio time.” Audrey laughs nervously and bites her lip again. A nervous habit that she’s had since she was a teenager. Audrey’s never been good about opening up to people. It’s why she always gravitated towards music, because it allowed her to express herself in a way that she’s never done before. But now she has to trust Niall to help bring the songs to light how she wants.

She takes a deep breath before she gets into it, “I dated this person for a year and a half… I thought it was going to be my one, but as time went on, things just… fizzled. There wasn’t a big fight or blowout, we just stopped being in love and it was really hard to deal with losing them. I kind of want to write an album shaped around that experience. Possibly the whole relationship, from the start with butterflies to falling in love and thinking they’re the one to feeling that amazing love slipping from your grasp and not being able to save it.”

Niall doesn’t know what to say. He loves the idea, “Like a concept album?” He has to verify, because if he could make his own, it’d be the same kind of thing, a story from start to finish. Audrey nods, “My favorite albums growing up have always been the ones where every song worked, you know? Every song had its own story but worked within the frame of the album. Where you could listen to an album from its first song to its last and feel all the feelings of the singer as they were writing it.”

“So do you have an outline for it?” Niall asks, wondering how she’s planned to get this story moving. Audrey shakes her head, “The issue is, I don’t want it to be a novel, you know? Where one song ends on chapter one and the next picks up on chapter 2. I want them to be interwoven, in a way? Where the story only really makes sense when you listen to the entire album together. And the further you make it into the album, the more complete the picture is. Does that make sense?”

Niall laughs, “Yeah, but seems like a chore. Might be an easier item to make if you were just like yeah i want a #1 song that features Rihanna or something.” Audrey laughs and tosses her pencil at Niall, “Oh shut up. I think we can do it. If I didn’t believe in you, I would have hired Calvin Harris.” She jokes, since that’s who Georgina was gunning for.

Niall shakes his head, “Always choosing the scots over the irish, typical American.” He jokes, which causes Audrey to pick her pencil off the ground and toss it at Niall again. Niall grabs it this time, “Ah, learned from the first time!” He teases, tucking the pencil into his notebook so she can’t lob it at him again. “Use your computer from now on til I can trust you with the pencil.”

Audrey rolls her eyes, feeling like Niall’s a schoolteacher scolding her. “Yes, professor.”

Their first writing session is far from perfect. There’s no hit song being written or the perfect chord being played that they both know will be all over the radio from the instant it’s sent out. Instead, it’s more working on a bunch of moving parts. Audrey shows Niall some of her bits of writing, some choruses or whole verses, but many just small parts, maybe a line or two. It’s hard to compile them into a song or even figure out which ones should go together into one song.

The second session, Niall comes in with a plan. He talked to Scott about how to best organize things since it seemed like things were all over the table and decides the best course of action is to dissect a lyric and then write from there.

He walks in and takes her journal, trying to find the lyric that stood out to him the most. Audrey tries not to feel uncomfortable with him just rooting through her journal, but it’s still fresh to her to share her feelings like this.

“Ok, so this lyric was the one that spoke to me the most.” He sings it, strumming at his guitar mindlessly. “What were you thinking when you wrote it?”

Audrey closes her eyes, trying to think back to when she wrote it. “Hmm, well I was making dinner actually, some baked chicken pasta dish when I was remembering how it was my ex’s favorite dish and I started thinking of all the times I cooked it for them. And I was thinking about how the smell just transported me back to that moment in time. How I was able to go back to feeling the love I once had just from a dish I’d probably made a million times before.”

Niall bites his lip, grabbing his pen. “What if that’s what we try to make the song about? The entire experience of being transported back? Kind of a even though I’ve moved on, I still miss you every time I make this dish type thing?”

Audrey nods, “I like that, maybe the juxtaposition between the being over you part but the memories never really fading so the flashback to the feelings type thing. Could be a good song. I’d listen to it.”

Niall smiles, “I really like the thought you had about the meals.” He chews on his lower lip, trying to be better about putting himself into the songs. “For me, it’s always this specific perfume. I swear I can still smell it even now. It was her “signature scent” and I can be doing anything, in line at the grocery for some toilet paper or whatever and I think of her…” He smiles, thinking about how much he loved the smell of his ex’s perfume when they were together. “But it’s also kind of bittersweet sometimes. Because I get lost in those memories and I have to kind of remind myself that they’re just memories and that’s all we’ll ever be anymore.”

Audrey smiles, noticing that Niall’s strumming got slower as he talked, like he was lost in the memories too. “I think that’s the hardest part about ending a relationship. Realizing that all these great memories you had with someone are the only thing holding you onto them and that the current relationship is just over… At least for me it was.”

Niall looks up into her eyes and smiles, his strumming stopping all together. “You know, that’s what I was thinking too… I think it’s a universal feeling, about wanting to be with someone because you had all these great memories and experiences together but also knowing that it’s not right and it isn’t making you happy. I think a song about that would really resonate with people. Maybe as a final song on the album, a letting go song.”


End file.
